1991

The season

Ayrton Senna considered the 1991 season to be his best in Formula 1. More mature and racing as the previous year’s champion, he started off strong, winning the first four races.

The Brazilian prevailed in Phoenix, Interlagos, Imola and Monaco, always taking the pole-position, while rival Nigel Mansell faced problems. After those four races, Senna was well ahead in the championship standings: 40 points to 11. But Williams progressed rapidly and managed to score a lot of points soon after. In the middle of the season, Senna had only two wins (Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps), while Williams won seven out of nine races. That evolution placed Nigel Mansell in direct competition for the title.

One of the high points of Williams’ comeback, in 1991, took place at the British Grand Prix, when a British team, with a British driver, won in their home turf, in Silverstone. Mansell easily won the race – which was marked by the lift he gave Senna after the Brazilian ran out of fuel during the last lap.

At the year’s penultimate Grand Prix, in Suzuka, Japan, things favored the Brazilian driver, who led the championship with 85 points, followed by Mansell, with 69. Anticipation was high for Senna to win the title in Japan, for the third time in his career. Since Senna was 16 points ahead, he could even lose to Mansell, as long as he didn’t let the advantage shrink to 11 points or less.

The starting grid had Berger at the pole-position, Senna in second and Mansell in third. At the 10th lap, while fighting for second place, the Briton made a mistake trying to pass the Brazilian, and got stuck at the first turn’s gravel trap. Without the Briton to worry about, Senna already knew: he was the 1991 F1 season champion.

He won the title once again in Suzuka, to the delight of his enthusiastic Japanese fans. He scored 96 points, with seven wins, eight pole positions and two best laps, not scoring in only two races.

Ayrton Senna considered the 1991 season to be his best in Formula 1. More mature and racing as the previous year’s champion, he started off strong, winning the first four races.

The Brazilian prevailed in Phoenix, Interlagos, Imola and Monaco, always taking the pole-position, while rival Nigel Mansell faced problems. After those four races, Senna was well ahead in the championship standings: 40 points to 11. But Williams progressed rapidly and managed to score a lot of points soon after. In the middle of the season, Senna had only two wins (Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps), while Williams won seven out of nine races. That evolution placed Nigel Mansell in direct competition for the title.

One of the high points of Williams’ comeback, in 1991, took place at the British Grand Prix, when a British team, with a British driver, won in their home turf, in Silverstone. Mansell easily won the race – which was marked by the lift he gave Senna after the Brazilian ran out of fuel during the last lap.

At the year’s penultimate Grand Prix, in Suzuka, Japan, things favored the Brazilian driver, who led the championship with 85 points, followed by Mansell, with 69. Anticipation was high for Senna to win the title in Japan, for the third time in his career. Since Senna was 16 points ahead, he could even lose to Mansell, as long as he didn’t let the advantage shrink to 11 points or less.

The starting grid had Berger at the pole-position, Senna in second and Mansell in third. At the 10th lap, while fighting for second place, the Briton made a mistake trying to pass the Brazilian, and got stuck at the first turn’s gravel trap. Without the Briton to worry about, Senna already knew: he was the 1991 F1 season champion.

He won the title once again in Suzuka, to the delight of his enthusiastic Japanese fans. He scored 96 points, with seven wins, eight pole positions and two best laps, not scoring in only two races.